February 17 2020 Telstra and Rio Tinto move to 20 day payment terms for small businesses

Only a few big businesses, such as Telstra and Rio Tinto, have done ‘the right thing’ according to Australian Small Business Ombudsman Kate Carnell, in terms of addressing late payments. Late payments is a huge problem for the Australian small business community, with a Xero report last June (2019) citing a loss of $7 billion per Read More…

February 13 2020 Fintech company ezyCollect raises $7.1 million investment over 15 months

Sydney-based payment processing company, ezyCollect, has raised $7.1 million across two rounds in the past 15 months. AJ Singh and Raj Kuckreja, who founded the fintech in 2015, have a range of investors from Tankstream, Artesian, Macdoch Ventures, Sydney Angels and Adrian Di Marco, founder of Technology One. The company helps over 1000 businesses across Read More…

February 12 2020 Salary increases shrink nationally despite increase in pay rise requests

Two thirds of Australians are planning to ask for a pay rise this year according to The Adecco Group’s 2020 Australia Salary Guide. Those working in the IT sector are the most likely to ask for a pay rise in 2020, followed by manufacturing and business service sectors. This is despite the size of pay Read More…

February 11 2020 Neobank growth in Aus ‘a little terrifying’

The top execs of Neobanks are shocked at the huge demand they are receiving from potential customers. To put the demand into perspective, one Neobank – Xinja – has amassed an impressive $100 million in deposits in a time frame of just 19 days. The challenger banks, which are 100% digital, are collectively signing hundreds of Read More…

February 10 2020 Astrology, plant-based products and CBD oil are the 2020 trends

Entrepreneurs looking for their next business adventure this year may need to think outside the box, experts suggest. Apart from traditionally popular sectors for startups – such as retail, technology and finance – wellness industries are also set for explosive growth. According to Melbourne creative platform 99designs and its recent data collection, astrology, cannabidiol (CBD), Read More…

February 4 2020 Cash rate held: RBA cites improved unemployment as reason

The Reserve Bank of Australia has held the cash rate at a record low 0.75 per cent and had “surprisingly” little to say about the headwinds presented by the catastrophic summer bushfires and coronavirus crisis. RBA Governor Philip Lowe has cited improved unemployment figures for December, low borrowing costs, recent tax refunds and improved property Read More…

January 23 2020 The 5 most valuable companies

We have a compiled list of the 5 most valuable companies in the world at the moment, based on current stock market valuations. Number one may come as a surprise, and maybe you didn’t realise Google has a parent company…. but the household names are definitely up there and probably won’t shock you.  Google parent Read More…

January 17 2020 Black Friday fuelled November retail surge

Retail spending jumped by a better than expected 0.9 per cent in November, easily beating economist forecasts of a 0.4 per cent increase.  November’s Black Friday sales fuelled a better-than-expected monthly retail turnover, but economists are wary of how much of the 0.9 per cent increase would previously have been spent during December. Consumers shelled Read More…

January 16 2020 COSBOA push for policy adaptation that protects businesses affected by national disasters

The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) has called for a focus on policy adaptation on national disasters to protect small business owners throughout the next decade. “The next decade must be about policy adaptation on key national issues,” said Peter Strong, CEO of COSBOA, following the devastating impact of the bushfires and drought Read More…

January 15 2020 Banking Code still not protecting small businesses fully

Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, has spoken out on the recently approved new version of the Banking of Code of Practice – a set of enforceable standards that small businesses can expect from Australian banks. The updates come into effect in March this year and was only last updated in July last Read More…

January 8 2020 Interest-free loans for bushfire businesses

Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud is developing an assistance package for businesses affected by the bushfires raging across Australia. The government is currently offering a one-off $1000 payment for bushfire victims, as well as 13 weeks of income support. Mr Littleproud said he would announce a program in the coming days that will see bushfire-affected Read More…

January 7 2020 Companies tallying economic hit from bushfires

Accommodation provider Aspen Group has forecast an income hit of at least $500,000 as bushfires wreak havoc on the NSW south coast and drive holidaymakers away. The company is the latest in a growing number of businesses to have reported financial losses from fires in recent weeks, including fruit and vegetable grower Costa Group and Read More…

December 20 2019 Open Banking set to revolutionise banking from February 2020

The way Australians share account and transaction data will become much easier in February 2020 with the rollout of Open Banking through the Consumer Data Right legislation. The first stage of Open Banking will involve the major four banks and the rollout will give consumers the right to control their data. “Ultimately, Open Banking will Read More…

December 19 2019 Buy now pay later company Openpay sinks on ASX debut

Afterpay rival Openpay is trading down 20% in its ASX float following a $50 million initial public offering. The Melbourne company’s shares were trading at $1.36 at 1500 AEDT, down 15 per cent from the IPO price of $1.60, and had traded as low as 20 per cent down. “It’s obviously not great from the Read More…

December 16 2019 Promising sustainability: Asahi jumps on the renewable bandwagon

Committing to using renewable energies and reducing waste in order to become more environmentally sustainable is becoming more and more popular amongst businesses, arguably largely pushed by a demand by consumers and climate change concerns. Most recently, it is the Japenses brewing and spirits giant – Asahi – which has joined other brewers, Lion and Read More…